Like Aksai Chin, Pakistan is going to hand over Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) of Jammu and Kashmir to China. But for this a game is being played, in which the Pakistan government has prepared a new deal with China to hand it over for 50 years. The reason for this is the poor economic condition of the country and tension with America.
Giving this information in his editorial written in ‘The Eurasian Times’, senior journalist RC Ganju said that the acting Federal Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza has denied this. On the other hand, North Gilgit-Baltistan province and the Chinese province Gansu signed a memorandum of understanding on December 9, 2023. The MoU is to transfer high-mountain agriculture technology and machinery to the hilly region to help local farmers increase production of various crops.
In China, Gansu province is the center of the Belt and Road Initiative, and Gilgit-Baltistan is the gateway to CPEC. Under the pretext of improving communications between these two regions, the Chinese government will help the government of Gilgit-Baltistan to develop “agriculture, food security and human and livestock development”.
It is pertinent to mention that GB is not officially a part of Pakistan, but is part of the disputed Kashmir that is administered by Pakistan. The region is Pakistan’s only land link to China and is at the center of the US$65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure development plan.
CPEC started in 2013, in which 62 billion US dollars have been spent so far. But now debt-ridden Pakistan is looking for a loan to repay the old debt. Anyone who gives – and on any terms – should be heartily embraced. The ‘unbreakable bonds’ of Pakistan-China friendship are under strain.
According to IMF data, China holds about US$30 billion of Pakistan’s total external debt of US$126 billion. This is equal to its IMF loan (US$7.8 billion) and more than its borrowings from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
The original state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), spread over 2,22,236 square km, joined India in October 1947. But today India has only 1,06,566 square km of physical part of the original state of Jammu and Kashmir. Whereas Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) is 72,935 square km. In 1963, Pakistan illegally leased the Shaksgam Valley (Indian territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK)) to China in exchange for military and nuclear technology.
In recent months, China and Pakistan have signed bilateral agreements on various issues including mineral exploration, processing and extraction, climate protection, industrial production, commerce, communications, transport, connectivity, food security, media, space cooperation, urban development, capacity building and vaccine development. More than 30 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) have been signed in the sectors.
Pakistan handed over the Shasgam Valley to appease China and get help and support for its cause when it fully claimed Jammu and Kashmir at the UN and other international forums. Pakistan knows that no legal document supports its occupation of the Jammu and Kashmir region, and it only has the UN card in its favor.
The then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared the Jammu and Kashmir issue as disputed. But in reality there is no such dispute as per the Instrument of Accession of 1947 when Jammu and Kashmir fully acceded to India, which was signed by Maharaja Hari Singh.
The claim of Muslim population backfired as the people of Jammu and Kashmir and PoK never supported Pakistan’s illegal occupation or claim and they asked Pakistan to immediately vacate their area. Pakistan uses this as an opportunity to work with China to maintain that Jammu and Kashmir is disputed, so that its point of view can be given importance. Thus the Shashagen Valley gifted to China is nothing but appeasement politics to counter India’s legal claim on Jammu and Kashmir!
Pakistan is so badly poor, suspicious and corrupt that it freely gifted Gilgit-Baltistan along with two Sindh islands to China. At best, it is deliberately exchanging/selling the Sindh islands to cash in, with the ulterior motive of deliberately bringing the troublesome and cunning dragon to India’s doorstep.
Pakistan has already earned a lot of Chinese money by selling India’s legally owned PoK assets, especially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. But China and Pakistan are playing with fire.
The question is, how can Pakistan sell the disputed property to China, and how can China accept the land from Pakistan, knowing full well that India has a legal claim on it? India has strongly and clearly protested before the world against this fraudulent and suspicious deal.